System and method in a television for providing user-selection of objects in a television program

ABSTRACT

A system and method in a television for providing user-selection of objects in a television program, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application is related to and claims priority fromprovisional patent application Ser. No. 61/242,234 filed Sep. 14, 2009,and titled “TELEVISION SYSTEM,” the contents of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This patentapplication is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,filed ______, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FORPROVIDING USER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, AttorneyDocket No. 21038US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed______, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION RECEIVER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21039US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21040US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION CONTROLLER FOR PROVIDINGUSER-SELECTION OF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No.21041US02; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, titled“SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTIONOF OBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21051US02; U.S.patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, titled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD IN A PARALLEL TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING USER-SELECTION OFOBJECTS IN A TELEVISION PROGRAM”, Attorney Docket No. 21052US02. Thecontents of each of the above-mentioned applications are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

SEQUENCE LISTING

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present television systems are incapable of providing for and/orconveniently providing for user-selection of objects in a televisionprogram. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional andtraditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such systems with the present invention as setforth in the remainder of the present application with reference to thedrawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present invention provide a system and method ina television for providing for user selection of objects in a televisionprogram, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection withat least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of illustrative aspects thereof, will bemore fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary television system, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for providinguser-selection of objects in television programming, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for providinguser-selection of objects in television programming, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary television, in accordancewith various aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating exemplary modules and/or sub-modulesfor a television, in accordance with various aspects of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION

The following discussion will refer to various communication modules,components or circuits. Such modules, components or circuits maygenerally comprise hardware and/or a combination of hardware andsoftware (e.g., including firmware). Such modules may also, for example,comprise a computer readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory medium)comprising instructions (e.g., software instructions) that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform variousfunctional aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of particular hardware and/or software implementationsof a module, component or circuit unless explicitly claimed as such. Forexample and without limitation, various aspects of the present inventionmay be implemented by one or more processors (e.g., a microprocessor,digital signal processor, baseband processor, microcontroller, etc.)executing software instructions (e.g., stored in volatile and/ornon-volatile memory). Also for example, various aspects of the presentinvention may be implemented by an application-specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”) and/or other hardware components.

Additionally, the following discussion will refer to various televisionsystem modules (e.g., television modules). It should be noted that thefollowing discussion of such various modules is segmented into suchmodules for the sake of illustrative clarity. However, in actualimplementation, the boundaries between various modules may be blurred.For example, any or all of the functional modules discussed herein mayshare various hardware and/or software components. For example, any orall of the functional modules discussed herein may be implemented whollyor in-part by a shared processor executing software instructions.Additionally, various software sub-modules that may be executed by oneor more processors may be shared between various software modules.Accordingly, the scope of various aspects of the present inventionshould not be limited by arbitrary boundaries between various hardwareand/or software components, unless explicitly claimed.

The following discussion may also refer to communication networks andvarious aspects thereof. For the following discussion, a communicationnetwork is generally the communication infrastructure through which acommunication device (e.g., a portable communication device, television,television control device, television provider, television programmingprovider, television receiver, video recording device, etc.) maycommunicate with other systems. For example and without limitation, acommunication network may comprise a cable and/or satellite televisioncommunication network, a cellular communication network, a wirelessmetropolitan area network (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN),a wireless personal area network (WPAN), any home or premisescommunication network, etc. A particular communication network may, forexample, generally have a corresponding communication protocol accordingto which a communication device may communicate with the communicationnetwork. Unless so claimed, the scope of various aspects of the presentinvention should not be limited by characteristics of a particular typeof communication network.

The following discussion will at times refer to an on-screen pointinglocation. Such a pointing location refers to a location on thetelevision screen to which a user (either directly or with a pointingdevice) is pointing. Such a pointing location is to be distinguishedfrom other types of on-screen location identification, such as, forexample, using arrow keys and/or a mouse to move a cursor or to traverseblocks (e.g., on an on-screen program guide) without pointing. Variousaspects of the present invention, while referring to on-screen pointinglocation, are also readily extensible to such other forms of on-screenlocation identification.

Additionally, the following discussion will at times refer to televisionprogramming. Such television programming generally includes varioustypes of television programming (e.g., television programs, newsprograms, sports programs, music television, movies, television seriesprograms and/or associated advertisements, educational programs, live orrecorded television programming, broadcast/multicast/unicast televisionprogramming, etc.). Such television programming may, for example,comprise real-time television broadcast programming (or multicast orunicast television programming) and/or user-stored televisionprogramming that is stored in a user device (e.g., a VCR, PVR, etc.).Such television programming video content is to be distinguished fromother non-programming video content that may be displayed on atelevision screen (e.g., an electronic program guide, user interfacemenu, a television set-up menu, a typical web page, a document, agraphical video game, etc.). Various aspects of the present inventionmay, for example in a television, comprise receiving televisionprogramming, presenting such received television programming to a user,determining an on-screen pointing location pointed to by the user andidentifying a user-selected object in the presented televisionprogramming.

Also, the following discussion will at times refer to user-selectableobjects in television programming. Such user-selectable objects includesboth animate (i.e., living) and inanimate (i.e., non-living) objects,both still and moving. Such objects may, for example, comprisecharacteristics of any of a variety of objects present in televisionprogramming. Such objects may, for example and without limitation,comprise inanimate objects, such as consumer good objects (e.g.,clothing, automobiles, shoes, jewelry, furniture, food, beverages,appliances, electronics, toys, artwork, cosmetics, recreationalvehicles, sports equipment, safety equipment, computer equipment,communication devices, books, etc.), premises objects (e.g., businesslocations, stores, hotels, signs, doors, buildings, landmarks,historical sites, entertainment venues, hospitals, government buildings,etc.), objects related to services (e.g., objects related totransportation, objects related to emergency services, objects relatedto general government services, objects related to entertainmentservices, objects related to food and/or drink services, etc.), objectsrelated to location (e.g., parks, landmarks, streets, signs, road signs,etc.), etc. Such objects may, for example, comprise animate objects,such as people (e.g., actors/actresses, athletes, musicians,salespeople, commentators, reports, analysts, hosts/hostesses,entertainers, etc.), animals (e.g., pets, zoo animals, wild animals,etc.) and plants (e.g., flowers, trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables,cacti, etc.).

Turning first to FIG. 1, such figure is a diagram illustrating anon-limiting exemplary television system 100 in accordance with variousaspects of the present invention. The exemplary system 100 includes atelevision provider 110. The television provider 110 may, for example,comprise a television network company, a cable company, amovie-providing company, a news company, an educational institution,etc. The television provider 110 may, for example, be an original sourceof television programming (or related information). Also for example,the television provider 110 may be a communication company that providesprogramming distribution services (e.g., a cable television company, asatellite television company, a telecommunication company, a datanetwork provider, etc.). The television provider 110 may, for example,provide television programming and non-programming information and/orvideo content. The television provider 110 may, for example, provideinformation related to a television program (e.g., informationdescribing or otherwise related to selectable objects in programming,etc.).

The exemplary television system 100 may also include a third partyprogram information provider 120. Such a provider may, for example,provide information related to a television program. Such informationmay, for example, comprise information describing selectable objects inprogramming, program guide information, etc.

The exemplary television system 100 may include one or morecommunication networks (e.g., the communication network(s) 130). Theexemplary communication network 130 may comprise characteristics of anyof a variety of types of communication networks over which televisionprogramming and/or information related to television programming may becommunicated. For example and without limitation, the communicationnetwork 130 may comprise characteristics of any one or more of: a cabletelevision network, a satellite television network, a telecommunicationnetwork, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a personal areanetwork (PAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), any of a variety ofdifferent types of home networks, etc.

The exemplary television system 100 may include a first television 140.Such a first television 140 may, for example, comprise networkingcapability enabling such television 140 to communicate directly with thecommunication network 130. For example, the first television 140 maycomprise one or more embedded television receivers or transceivers(e.g., a cable television receiver, satellite television transceiver,Internet modem, etc.). Also for example, the first television 140 maycomprise one or more recording devices (e.g., for recording and/orplaying back video content, television programming, etc.). The firsttelevision 140 may, for example, operate to (which includes “operatewhen enabled to”) perform any or all of the functionality discussedherein.

The exemplary television system 100 may include a first televisioncontroller 160. Such a first television controller 160 may, for example,operate to (e.g., which may include “operate when enabled to”) controloperation of the first television 140. The first television controller160 may comprise characteristics of any of a variety of televisioncontrolling devices. For example and without limitation, the firsttelevision controller 160 may comprise characteristics of a dedicatedtelevision control device, a universal remote control, a cellulartelephone or personal computing device with television controlcapability, etc.

The first television controller 160 (or television control device) may,for example, transmit signals directly to the first television 140 tocontrol operation of the first television 140. The first televisioncontroller 160 may also, for example, operate to transmit signals (e.g.,via the communication network 130) to the television provider 110 tocontrol television programming (or related information) being providedto the first television 140, or to conduct other transactions (e.g.,business transactions, etc.).

As will be discussed in more detail later, the first televisioncontroller 160 may operate to communicate screen pointing informationwith the first television 140 and/or other devices. Also, as will bediscussed in more detail later, various aspects of the present inventioninclude a user pointing to a location on a television screen (e.g.,pointing to an animate or inanimate object presented in televisionprogramming). In such a scenario, the user may perform such pointing inany of a variety of manners. One of such exemplary manners includespointing with a television control device. The first televisioncontroller 160 provides a non-limiting example of a device that a usermay utilize to point to an on-screen location.

The exemplary television system 100 may also include a televisionreceiver 151. The television receiver 151 may, for example, operate to(e.g., which may include “operate when enabled to”) provide acommunication link between a television and/or television controller anda communication network and/or information provider. For example, thetelevision receiver 151 may operate to provide a communication linkbetween the second television 141 and the communication network 130, orbetween the second television 141 and the television provider 110(and/or third party program information provider 120) via thecommunication network 130.

The television receiver 151 may comprise characteristics of any of avariety of types of television receivers. For example and withoutlimitation, the television receiver 151 may comprise characteristics ofa cable television receiver, a satellite television receiver, etc. Alsofor example, the television receiver 151 may comprise a datacommunication network modem for data network communications (e.g., withthe Internet, a LAN, PAN, MAN, telecommunication network, etc.). Thetelevision receiver 151 may also, for example, comprise recordingcapability (e.g., programming recording and playback, etc.).

The exemplary television system 100 may include a second televisioncontroller 161. Such a second television controller 161 may, forexample, operate to (e.g., which may include “operate when enabled to”)control operation of the second television 141 and the televisionreceiver 151. The second television controller 161 may comprisecharacteristics of any of a variety of television controlling devices.For example and without limitation, the second television controller 161may comprise characteristics of a dedicated television control device, adedicated television receiver control device, a universal remotecontrol, a cellular telephone or personal computing device withtelevision control capability, etc.

The second television controller 161 may, for example, operate totransmit signals directly to the second television 141 to controloperation of the second television 141. The second television controller161 may, for example, operate to transmit signals directly to thetelevision receiver 151 to control operation of the television receiver151. The second television controller 161 may additionally, for example,operate to transmit signals (e.g., via the television receiver 151 andthe communication network 130) to the television provider 110 to controltelevision programming (or related information) being provided to thetelevision receiver 151, or to conduct other transactions (e.g.,business transactions, etc.).

As will be discussed in more detail later, various aspects of thepresent invention include a user pointing to a location on a televisionscreen (e.g., pointing to an animate or inanimate object presented intelevision programming). In such a scenario, the user may perform suchpointing in any of a variety of manners. One of such exemplary mannersincludes pointing with a television control device. The secondtelevision controller 161 provides one non-limiting example of a devicethat a user may utilize to point to an on-screen location.

The exemplary television system 100 was provided to provide anon-limiting illustrative foundation for discussion of various aspectsof the present invention. Thus, the scope of various aspects of thepresent invention should not be limited by any characteristics of theexemplary television system 100 unless explicitly claimed.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 200 forproviding user-selection of objects in television programming, inaccordance with various aspects of the present invention. Any or allaspects of the exemplary method 200 may, for example, be implemented ina television (e.g., the first television 140 and/or second television141 shown in FIG. 1 and discussed previously).

The exemplary method 200 may, for example, begin executing at step 205.The exemplary method 200 may begin executing in response to any of avariety of causes and/or conditions. For example, the exemplary method200 may begin executing in response to a user command to begin, inresponse to user selection of a television program that includes userselectable objects, upon television reset and/or power-up, in responseto a user input indicating a desire to provide object selectioncapability to the user, in response to identification of a user and/oruser equipment for which object selection capability is to be provided,in response to user payment of a fee, etc.

The exemplary method 200 may, for example at step 210, comprisereceiving television programming. Many non-limiting examples of suchtelevision programming were provided above. Step 210 may comprisereceiving the television programming from any of a variety of sources.For example and without limitation, step 210 may comprise receiving thetelevision programming from a television broadcasting company, from amovie streaming company, from a user (or consumer) video recordingdevice (e.g., internal and/or external to the television), from anInternet television programming provider, etc.

Step 210 may also comprise receiving the television programming via anyof a variety of types of communication networks. Such networks may, forexample, comprise a wireless television network (e.g., terrestrialand/or satellite) and/or cable television network. Such networks may,for example, comprise any of variety of data communication networks(e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a personal area network, ametropolitan area network, etc.).

In general, step 210 may comprise receiving television programming. Thescope of various aspects of the present invention should not be limitedby characteristics of any particular television programming, televisionprogramming source, television programming network or manner ofreceiving television programming unless explicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 220, comprise presentingtelevision programming to a user. Step 220 may, for example, comprisepresenting the television programming received at step 210 to a user inany of a variety of manners. For example, step 220 may comprisepresenting the television programming on a screen of the television.Also for example, step 220 may comprise communicating the televisionprogramming to another video presentation device external to thetelevision.

The presented television programming may, for example, compriseuser-selectable objects in the television programming. Many non-limitingexamples of such user-selectable objects were presented above. Ingeneral, such user-selectable objects may, for example, comprise animateand/or inanimate objects in television programming that a user mayselect (e.g., using a pointing device or other user interface by which auser may specify a screen location).

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 230, comprise determining anon-screen pointing location pointed to by a user of the television. Step230 may comprise determining an on-screen pointing location in any of avariety of manners, non-limiting examples of which will now be provided.Various non-limiting examples of on-screen pointing location determiningare provided in U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/242,234, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. An on-screenpointing location may, for example, be expressed in a screen-centriccoordinate system (e.g., x-y pixel coordinates), a screen independentcoordinate system (e.g., based on location within a moving image, wheresuch location is generic to all television screens), a world coordinateand/or universal coordinate system, a video frame-based coordinatesystem, etc.

Step 230 may, for example, comprise the television analyzing sensorinformation (e.g., associated with sensors on-board and/or off-board thetelevision) to determine user on-screen pointing location. Step 230 mayalso, for example, comprise the television receiving informationdescribing the on-screen pointing location from a device external to thetelevision (e.g., a television receiver, a television controller, atelevision network device, a user pointing device, etc.).

Step 230 may, for example, comprise identifying a timestamp temporallyidentifying the instance of a determined on-screen pointing location.Such timestamp may, for example, be obtained by a clock, timestampembedded in a video stream, timestamp embedded in a stream includingobject information, timestamp associated with a signal transmitted froma user pointing device, etc. Determination of such a timestamp may, forexample, be based on user command (e.g., a user indicating that aselection has occurred) or automatically without a direct indicationfrom the user that a selection has occurred (e.g., the systemdetermining that the user has pointed to an object for at least aparticular amount of time), etc. Such timestamp may be utilized, forexample, for determining selection of a moving, changing and/ortemporally transient object in the presented television programming.

In general, step 230 may comprise determining an on-screen pointinglocation pointed to by a user of the television. Accordingly, the scopeof various aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of any particular type of on-screen pointing location orany particular manner of determining such an on-screen pointing locationunless explicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, at step 240, comprise identifying auser-selectable object in the presented television programming at whichthe user is pointing based, at least in part, on the determinedon-screen pointing location (e.g., as determined at step 230). Step 240may comprise performing such identifying in any of a variety of manners,non-limiting examples of which will now be presented.

For example, step 240 may comprise determining the on-screen locationand/or dimensions of one or more user-selectable objects (e.g., orassociated selection region) in the presented television programming,and identifying a user-selected object by analyzing the respectiveon-screen locations of the one or more user-selectable objects and thedetermined on-screen pointing location (e.g., at a particular timeinstance and/or particular timeframe) to determine the televisionprogramming object selected by the user. For example, such on-screenlocation may, for example, comprise the on-screen location of one ormore points, areas and/or volumes associated with respective locationsof user-selectable objects.

In such an exemplary scenario or any scenario involving determiningon-screen location of one or more objects in the presented televisionprogramming, step 240 may, for example, comprise determining suchon-screen object location in any of a variety of manners. For example,step 240 may comprise receiving information identifying and/ordescribing the user-selectable objects in the television program.

For example, step 240 may comprise receiving information identifyingand/or describing such user-selectable objects from the same source asthe received television programming. For example, step 240 may comprisereceiving such information embedded in a same data stream as a streamcommunicating the presented television programming (e.g., embedded inthe received television program data). For example, a television streamprotocol may comprise specialized elements (and/or the utilization ofunassigned elements) that include information about selectable objects(e.g., object identity, shape, location, size, coloration, movementcharacteristics, timing, appearance time window, etc.).

Also for example, step 240 may comprise receiving the informationidentifying and/or describing such user-selectable objects in a datastream communicated in parallel with a stream communicating thepresented television programming. In such a scenario, the televisionprogram stream and object information stream may be received from a samesource over a same television programming communication channel.Additionally for example, step 240 may comprise receiving suchinformation from a same source but over a communication channeldifferent from the channel over which the television programming isreceived and/or over a type of communication channel different from atelevision programming communication channel.

Further for example, step 240 may comprise receiving the informationidentifying and/or describing such user-selectable objects from a source(e.g., a third party information provider, a television network source,etc.) different from the source from which the television programming isreceived. In such an exemplary scenario, step 240 may comprise receivingsuch information via different respective communication networks or viaone or more same communication networks. Also for example, step 240 maycomprise receiving such information over a different communicationmedium than that over which the television programming is received.

Step 240 may, for example, comprise receiving the informationidentifying and/or describing such user-selectable objects in a datastream, where such information is always transmitted in the data stream(e.g., whether or not requested by a user and/or other system).Alternatively for example, step 240 may comprise receiving suchinformation, where such information is communicated (e.g., to thetelevision) only when requested (e.g., only when requested by thetelevision, by a television controller, by a television receiver, by auser electronic device, by the user, etc.).

Step 240 may, for example, comprise receiving the informationidentifying and/or describing such user-selectable objects in real-time(i.e., as the television programming is received). Also for example,step 240 may comprise receiving such information from a source ofuser-stored television programming. For example, such information may bestored with stored television programming in a user storage device(e.g., in a same data file, in separate but related files, etc.). Insuch an exemplary implementation, such information may be received fromthe user's television programming storage device in time synchronizationwith television programming.

As mentioned above, the information identifying and/or describing userselectable objects in television programming may comprise timinginformation associated with such selectable objects. For example,movement of a selectable object may be expressed as a function of time.Also for example, appearance of a selectable object in televisionprogramming may be associated with a time window during which suchobject appears. As will be discussed in more detail below, timingassociated with a user on-screen pointing (or object selection) eventmay be synchronized to the timing of selectable object location in apresented program to determine whether a user pointed to (or selected) aparticular object at a particular location at a particular time.

The information identifying and/or describing user selectable objects intelevision programming may comprise information defining respectiveregions of the presented television programming that are associated withrespective user-selectable objects in the presented televisionprogramming. For example, such information may comprise informationdescribing respective geometric shapes (e.g., 2-D and/or 3-D geometricconstructs) associated with respective user-selectable objects. Forexample, a circle, oval, square, rectangle, pentagon or any polygon maybe associated with a user-selectable object. User-selection of one ofsuch geometric shapes (e.g., a determined on-screen pointing locationwithin the boundaries of such geometric shape(s) at the relevant pointin time) may indicate user selection of the respective object.

As discussed above, the object description (whether geometric or not)may comprise information (e.g., temporal information) describingmovement, appearance, size changing, shape changing, etc. associatedwith the user-selectable object. For example, in an exemplary scenariowhere a plurality of geometric shapes are utilized to describe auser-selectable object (and/or a user-selectable area associated withsuch object), the description of the user-selectable object may compriseinformation describing the manner in which each of the respectiveobjects move in the programming (e.g., as a function of time, as afunction of video frame number, etc.) and/or information describing themanner in which dimensions of each of the respective objects change.

Once on-screen pointing location and object location (e.g., at aparticular point in time) are known, such information may be processedto determine a user-selectable object to which a user is pointing. Asmentioned above, such processing may comprise determining a respectiveregion of the television screen and/or a television programming frameassociated with a respective user-selectable object, where therespective region correlates to an on-screen pointing location pointedto by the user (e.g., at a particular point in time or during aparticular timeframe).

During performing such processing, step 240 may comprise low-passfiltering the determined on-screen pointing location (e.g., asdetermined at step 230) to compensate for unintended movement ofpointing location (e.g., due to unsteady or unstable user pointing),thus increasing reliability of object selection determination. Forexample, successful user-selection of a television programming objectmay require a user to point to an on-screen object for a particularamount of time (or for a particular number of frames).

Note that such low-pass filtering may also be performed at step 230.Such filtering may, for example, comprise filtering over a particularperiod of time, over a particular number of on-screen pointing directiondeterminations, over a particular number of television programmingframes, etc. Such filtering may comprise averaging a plurality ofon-screen pointing direction determinations, utilizing a finite impulseresponse filtering scheme, etc.

Step 240 may also, for example, comprise identifying a user-selectedobject by identifying a most likely object selected by the user. Forexample, step 240 may comprise identifying a closest user-selectableobject to the on-screen pointing location determined at step 230. Alsofor example, step 240 may comprise determining a most likelyuser-selected object based, at least in part, on respective popularityof user selectable objects (e.g., favoring the most often selectedinanimate and/or animate objects). Additionally for example, step 240may comprise identifying a most likely user-selected object based, atleast in part, on monetary considerations (e.g., placing a higherlikelihood on user-selectable objects associated with relatively higherpaying advertisers, placing a higher likelihood on user-selectableobjects associated with a per-selection based advertising fee, etc.).Further for example, step 240 may comprise identifying a most likelyuser-selected programming object based on history of selection from aparticular user (e.g., favoring types of objects most often selected bya particular user). Also for example, step 240 may comprise identifyinga most likely user-selected programming object based on object newness(e.g., a new object is likely to garner more interest than an objectthat has been shown for a relatively long period of time). Additionally,for example, step 240 may comprise identifying a most likelyuser-selected television programming object based on object size.

A selected object may be identified with a unique identifier (e.g.,unique to the object, unique to a group of related objects, etc.). Step240 may thus comprise determining the identifier associated with thedetermined user-selected object. Such identifier may then be utilized inthe performance of any of a variety of further functions, non-limitingexamples of which will be presented below. For example, the informationidentifying and/or describing a user-selectable object may compriseinformation describing functions associated with such object (e.g.,information presentation functionality, communication functionality,business transaction functionality, user interaction functionality,etc.).

The steps of the exemplary method 200 (or aspects thereof) may, forexample, be performed (e.g., by a television) in real-time. In suchmanner, the user may have relatively expeditious access to functionalityassociated with the user-selected object. Alternatively for example, theexemplary method 200 (or aspects thereof) may be performed off-line in amanner in which functionality associated with the user-selected objectis provided to the user at a later time (e.g., after presentation of thetelevision program, upon the user pausing presentation of the televisionprogram, upon the user logging into the user's computer system, upon theuser accessing email, etc.).

As mentioned above, any or all of the steps of the exemplary method 200may be performed for user selection of an object in televisionprogramming as the programming is broadcast in real-time and/or may beperformed for user selection of an object in television programming thathas been recorded on a user (or home) television programming recorder(e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR), video cassette recorder (VCR),etc.) and is currently being presented to the user (e.g., at step 220)in a time-shifted manner. For example, a user may record a broadcasttelevision program on a PVR for later viewing, view such recordedprogramming at a later time, and while viewing such time-shiftedtelevision programming at a later time, select user-selectable objectsin such programming.

Similarly, any or all of the steps of the exemplary method 200 may beperformed for user selection of an object in television programming thathas been provided to the user (or stored by the user) on a physicalstorage medium (e.g., on a digital versatile disc (DVD), video cassetterecorder tape, non-volatile memory device, etc.). For example, a usermay purchase a set of DVDs including all episodes of a season of atelevision series, view each of such episodes at the convenience of theuser, and while viewing such episodes, select user-selectable objects insuch programming.

In an exemplary scenario, where on-screen pointing location at aparticular point in time is utilized to determine object selection, anyof a variety of time references may be utilized. For example,synchronization of on-screen pointing location and user-selectableobject location (e.g., on-screen and/or in-frame object location) may bebased on a presentation timestamp (PTS) and/or a decoding timestamp(DTS), or the like, which may be encoded in a broadcast and/or recordedprogram or determined as such program is being displayed to a user. Insuch a scenario, so long as the object location and pointingdetermination are based on a common and/or synchronized time reference,the identification of a pointed-to object may be performed accurately.

As mentioned previously, object information identifying and/ordescribing user-selectable objects may be received encoded in a videoprogram stream or may be received in a separate stream (and/or channel).In a scenario where television programming information is stored (eithershort term or long term), the object information may also be stored(e.g., with the stored programming information in a same data file, in aseparate but related data file, etc.). In such a manner, when the userdetermines to view a time-shifted program, the object information isaccessible to the television.

Alternatively, such information identifying and/or describinguser-selectable objects in programming may be requested from a thirdparty when such information is needed. In yet another scenario, forexample, where video information may be decoded separately from thetelevision (e.g., in a set top box (STB), cable and/or satellitetelevision receiver, PVR, etc.) and provided to the television forpresentation, such object information may also be received by suchseparate device and provided to the television (e.g., in an informationchannel separate from a video driver signal).

Note that although a portion of the previous discussion concernedanalyzing on-screen pointing location and on-screen object location toidentify a user-selected object, such analysis may also be similarlyperformed by analyzing on-frame pointing location and on-frame objectlocation. In other words, such analysis may comprise performing any of avariety of coordinate transformations to perform such analysis in any ofa variety of different respective coordinate domains.

In general, step 240 may comprise identifying a user-selectable objectin the presented television programming at which the user is pointing(e.g., based, at least in part, on the determined on-screen pointinglocation (e.g., as determined at step 230)). Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not arbitrarily belimited by any particular manner of performing such identifying unlessexplicitly claimed.

The exemplary method 200 may, for example at step 295, compriseperforming continued operations. Step 295 may comprise performing any ofa variety of continued operations, non-limiting examples of suchcontinued operation(s) will be presented below. For example, step 295may comprise returning execution flow to any of the previously discussedmethod steps. For example, step 295 may comprise returning executionflow of the exemplary method 200 to step 230 for determining additionalon-screen pointing locations and corresponding user-selected objects inthe television programming.

Also for example, step 295 may comprise generating a user outputindicating the identified user-selectable object (e.g., as identified atstep 240). For example, step 295 may comprise overlaying a graphicalfeature coinciding with the identified user-selectable object on thepresented television programming. For example, as discussed above, auser-selectable object (and/or the user-selectable portion of auser-selectable object) may be defined by one or more geometric shapes.In such an exemplary scenario, step 295 may comprise highlighting suchgeometric shapes (or the borders thereof) when step 240 determines thatthe user has selected a user-selectable object associated with suchgeometric shapes. Also for example, step 295 may comprise presenting anoutline of the identified object on the television screen, temporarilybrighten or alter the color of the identified object, temporarilydisplay a message on the screen as an indication of the identifiedobject, etc. Step 295 may also, for example, comprise outputting anaudio indication that a user-selected object has been identified.

Additionally for example, step 295 may comprise communicatinginformation indicating the identified user-selectable object to a deviceexternal to the television (e.g., a user device at the same premises asthe television and/or a device communicatively coupled to the televisionvia a communication network). For example, step 295 may comprisecommunicating such information to a television remote control device(e.g., in a scenario where the television remote control device mayprovide the user an indication of the identified user-selectableobject). In such an exemplary scenario, the television remote controldevice may comprise a video screen on which the television program maybe displayed, and the identified user-selectable object may then begraphically indicated on such video screen (e.g., instead of beingidentified on a screen of the television and/or in addition to beingidentified on the screen of the television).

Further for example, step 295 may comprise processing information of anidentified user-selected object (e.g., as determined at step 240) todetermine an action to perform with regard to such selected object.Various non-limiting examples of such actions are provided in U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/242,234, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

In general, step 295 may comprise performing continued operations (e.g.,performing additional operations corresponding to a user-selectedtelevision programming object, repeating various method steps foradditional user-selected objects, etc.). Accordingly, the scope ofvarious aspects of the present invention should not be limited bycharacteristics of any particular type of continued processing unlessexplicitly claimed.

Turning next to FIG. 3, such figure is a flow diagram illustrating anexemplary method 300 for providing user-selection of objects intelevision programming, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention. The exemplary method 300 may, for example, share anyor all characteristics with the exemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG.2 and discussed previously. Any or all aspects of the exemplary method300 may, for example, be implemented in a television (e.g., the firsttelevision 140 and/or second television 141).

The exemplary method 300 may, for example, begin executing at step 305.The exemplary method 300 may begin executing in response to any of avariety of causes or conditions. Step 305 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with step 205 of the exemplary method 200illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 310, comprisereceiving television programming. Step 310 may, for example, share anyor all characteristics with step 210 of the exemplary method 200illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

For example, step 310 may comprise, for example at sub-step 312,receiving a television program broadcast as such program is broadcast inreal-time. Alternatively for example, step 310 may comprise, for exampleat sub-step 314, receiving a previously broadcast program from a userrecording device (e.g., a PVR, VCR, etc.) in a time-shifted manner.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 320, comprisepresenting television programming (e.g., as received at step 310) to auser. Step 320 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withstep 220 of the exemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussedpreviously.

For example, step 320 may comprise, for example at sub-step 322,presenting the received television programming on a screen of atelevision (e.g., of a television implementing the exemplary method 300or a portion thereof). Alternatively for example, step 320 may comprise,for example at sub-step 324, communicating received televisionprogramming to another user device for presentation to the user (e.g.,to a display device different from the television, to a televisionremote control device with a display, to a user's handheld computer,etc.).

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 330, comprisedetermining on-screen pointing location pointed to by a user of thetelevision. Step 330 may, for example, share any or all characteristicswith step 230 of the exemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 anddiscussed previously.

For example, step 330 may comprise, for example at sub-step 332,analyzing sensor information (e.g., associated with sensors on-boardand/or off-board the television) to determine user on-screen pointinglocation. Alternatively for example, step 330 may comprise, for exampleat sub-step 334, the television receiving information describing theon-screen pointing location from a device external to the television(e.g., a television receiver, a television controller, a televisionnetwork device, etc.).

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 340, compriseidentifying a user-selectable object in the presented televisionprogramming at which the user is pointing based, at least in part, onthe determined on-screen pointing location (e.g., as determined at step330). Step 340 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withstep 240 of the exemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussedpreviously.

For example, step 340 may comprise, for example at sub-step 342,determining the on-screen location of one or more user-selectableobjects in the presented television programming. Alternatively forexample, step 330 may comprise, for example at sub-step 344, identifyinga user-selected object by analyzing the respective on-screen locationsof the one or more user-selectable objects and the determined on-screenpointing location (e.g., at a particular time instance and/or particulartimeframe) to determine the object selected by the user.

The exemplary method 300 may, for example at step 395, compriseperforming continued operations. Step 395 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with step 295 of the exemplary method 200illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed previously.

Turning next to FIG. 4, such figure is a diagram illustrating anexemplary television 400, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention. The exemplary television 400 may, for example, shareany or all characteristics with the exemplary televisions 140, 141illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed previously. Also, the exemplarytelevision 400 (e.g., various modules thereof) may operate to performany or all of the functionality discussed previously with regard to theexemplary methods 200 and 300 illustrated in FIGS. 2-3 and discussedpreviously.

The exemplary television 400 includes a first communication interfacemodule 410. The first communication interface module 410 may, forexample, operate to communicate over any of a variety of communicationmedia and utilizing any of a variety of communication protocols. Forexample, though the first communication interface module 410 isillustrated coupled to a wireless RF antenna via a wireless port 412,the wireless medium is merely illustrative and non-limiting. The firstcommunication interface module 410 may, for example, operate tocommunicate with one or more communication networks (e.g., cabletelevision networks, satellite television networks, telecommunicationnetworks, the Internet, local area networks, personal area networks,metropolitan area networks, etc.) via which television video content(e.g., television programming) and/or other data is communicated. Alsofor example, the first communication interface module 410 may operate tocommunicate with local sources of television video content (e.g., videorecorders, receivers, gaming devices, etc.). Additionally, for example,the first communication interface module 410 may operate to communicatewith a television controller (e.g., directly or via one or moreintermediate communication networks).

The exemplary television 400 includes a second communication interfacemodule 420. The second communication interface module 420 may, forexample, operate to communicate over any of a variety of communicationmedia and utilizing any of a variety of communication protocols. Forexample, the second communication interface module 420 may communicatevia a wireless RF communication port 422 and antenna, or may communicatevia a non-tethered optical communication port 424 (e.g., utilizing laserdiodes, photodiodes, etc.). Also for example, the second communicationinterface module 420 may communicate via a tethered opticalcommunication port 426 (e.g., utilizing a fiber optic cable), or maycommunicate via a wired communication port 428 (e.g., utilizing coaxialcable, twisted pair, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable, any of a variety ofwired component and/or composite video connections, etc.). The secondcommunication interface module 420 may, for example, operate tocommunicate with one or more communication networks (e.g., cabletelevision networks, satellite television networks, telecommunicationnetworks, the Internet, local area networks, personal area networks,metropolitan area networks, etc.) via which television video content(e.g., television programming) and/or other data is communicated. Alsofor example, the second communication module 420 may operate tocommunicate with local sources of television video content (e.g., videorecorders, receivers, gaming devices, etc.). Additionally, for example,the second communication module 420 may operate to communicate with atelevision controller (e.g., directly or via one or more interveningcommunication networks).

The exemplary television 400 may also comprise additional communicationinterface modules, which are not illustrated. Such additionalcommunication interface modules may, for example, share any or allaspects with the first 410 and second 420 communication interfacemodules discussed above.

The exemplary television 400 may also comprise a communication module430. The communication module 430 may, for example, operate to controland/or coordinate operation of the first communication interface module410 and the second communication interface module 420 (and/or additionalcommunication interface modules as needed). The communication module 430may, for example, provide a convenient communication interface by whichother components of the television 400 may utilize the first 410 andsecond 420 communication interface modules. Additionally, for example,in an exemplary scenario where a plurality of communication interfacemodules are sharing a medium and/or network, the communication module430 may coordinate communications to reduce collisions and/or otherinterference between the communication interface modules.

The exemplary television 400 may additionally comprise one or more userinterface modules 440. The user interface module 440 may generallyoperate to provide user interface functionality to a user of thetelevision 400. For example, and without limitation, the user interfacemodule 440 may operate to provide for user control of any or allstandard television commands (e.g., channel control, volume control,on/off, screen settings, input selection, etc.). The user interfacemodule 440 may, for example, operate and/or respond to user commandsutilizing user interface features disposed on the television (e.g.,buttons, etc.) and may also utilize the communication module 430 (and/orfirst 410 and second 420 communication interface modules) to communicatewith a television controller (e.g., a dedicated television remotecontrol, a universal remote control, a cellular telephone, personalcomputing device, gaming controller, etc.).

The user interface module 440 may also comprise one or more sensormodules that operate to interface with and/or control operation of anyof a variety of sensors that may be utilized to ascertain an on-screenpointing location. For example and without limitation, the userinterface module 440 (or sensor module(s) thereof) may operate toreceive signals associated with respective sensors (e.g., raw orprocessed signals directly from the sensors, through intermediatedevices, via the communication interface modules 410, 420, etc.). Alsofor example, in scenarios in which such sensors are active sensors (asopposed to purely passive sensors), the user interface module 440 (orsensor module(s) thereof) may operate to control the transmission ofsignals (e.g., RF signals, optical signals, acoustic signals, etc.) fromsuch sensors. Additionally, the user interface module 440 may performany of a variety of video output functions (e.g., presenting televisionprogramming to a user, providing visual feedback to a user regarding anidentified user-selected object in the presented television programming,etc.).

The exemplary television 400 may comprise one or more processors 450.The processor 450 may, for example, comprise a general purposeprocessor, digital signal processor, application-specific processor,microcontroller, microprocessor, etc. For example, the processor 450 mayoperate in accordance with software (or firmware) instructions. Asmentioned previously, any or all functionality discussed herein may beperformed by a processor executing instructions. For example, thoughvarious modules are illustrated as separate blocks or modules in FIG. 4,such illustrative modules, or a portion thereof, may be implemented bythe processor 450.

The exemplary television 400 may comprise one or more memories 460. Asdiscussed above, various aspects may be performed by one or moreprocessors executing instructions. Such instructions may, for example,be stored in the one or more memories 460. Such memory 460 may, forexample, comprise characteristics of any of a variety of types ofmemory. For example and without limitation, such memory 460 may compriseone or more memory chips (e.g., ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory,one-time-programmable OTP memory, etc.), hard drive memory, CD memory,DVD memory, etc.

The exemplary television 400 may comprise one or more modules 452 thatoperate to perform and/or manage the receipt and/or presentation oftelevision programming. For example, such one or more modules 452 mayoperate to utilize the communication module 430 (e.g., and at least oneof the communication interface modules 410, 420) to receive televisionprogramming. For example, such one or more modules 452 may operate toperform step 210 of the exemplary method 200 discussed previously and/orstep 310 of the exemplary method 300 discussed previously.

Also for example, such one or more modules 452 may operate to utilizethe user interface module(s) 440 to present television programming tothe user (e.g., via the video display 470 of the television).Additionally for example, such one or more modules 452 may operate toutilize the communication module 430 (e.g., and at least one of thecommunication interface modules 410, 420) to communicate televisionprogramming video output information to one or more devicescommunicatively coupled to the television 400 (e.g., via one or more ofthe communication interface modules 410, 420). For example, such one ormore modules 452 may operate to perform step 220 of the exemplary method200 discussed previously and/or step 320 of the exemplary method 300discussed previously.

The exemplary television 400 may comprise one or more on-screen pointinglocation determination module(s) 454. Such on-screen pointing locationdetermination module(s) 454 may, for example, operate to determine anon-screen pointing location pointed to by a user of the television. Suchmodule(s) 454 may, for example, operate to perform step 230 of theexemplary method 200 and/or step 330 of the exemplary method 300discussed previously. For example, the module(s) 454 may operate toanalyze sensor information to determine an on-screen pointing location.Also for example, the module(s) 454 may operate to receive on-screenpointing location information from a device external to the television400 (e.g., utilizing the communication module 430).

The exemplary television 400 may comprise one or more user-selectedobject identification modules 456. Such module(s) 456 may, for example,operate to identify a user-selectable object in presented televisionprogramming at which a user of the television 400 is pointing. Forexample, such module(s) 456 may operate to identify such user-selectedobject based, at least in part, on on-screen pointing locationdetermined by the on-screen pointing location determination module(s)454. Such module(s) 456 may, for example, operate to perform step 240 ofthe exemplary method 200 and/or step 340 of the exemplary method 300discussed previously. For example, the module(s) 456 may operate todetermine the on-screen location of one or more user-selectable objectsin the presented television programming, and identify a user-selectedobject by analyzing the respective on-screen locations of the one ormore user-selectable objects and the determined on-screen pointinglocation (e.g., at a particular time instance and/or particulartimeframe) to determine the object selected by the user.

Though not illustrated, the exemplary television 400 may, for example,comprise one or more modules that operate to perform any or all of thecontinued processing discussed previously with regard to step 295 of theexemplary method 200 and step 395 of the exemplary method 300, discussedpreviously. Such modules (e.g., as with the one or more modules 452, 454and 456) may be performed by the processor(s) 450 executing instructionsstored in the memory 460.

Turning next to FIG. 5, such figure is a diagram illustrating exemplarymodules and/or sub-modules for a television 500, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present invention. The exemplary television 500may share any or all aspects with any of the televisions 140, 141 and400 discussed herein and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. For example, theexemplary television 500 (or various modules thereof) may operate toperform any or all functionality discussed herein with regard to theexemplary method 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the exemplary method 300illustrated in FIG. 3. As with the exemplary television 400, thecomponents of the exemplary television 500 may be disposed in a singletelevision device (e.g., a console television, flat panel television,portable/mobile television device, mobile television device, etc.).

For example, the television 500 comprises a processor 530. Such aprocessor 530 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe processor 450 discussed with regard to FIG. 4. Also for example, thetelevision 500 comprises a memory 540. Such memory 540 may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the memory 460 discussed withregard to FIG. 4.

Also for example, the television 500 may comprise any of a variety ofuser interface module(s) 550. Such user interface module(s) 550 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the user interfacemodule(s) 440 discussed previously with regard to FIG. 4. For exampleand without limitation, the user interface module(s) 550 may comprise: adisplay device, a camera (for still or moving picture acquisition), aspeaker, an earphone (e.g., wired or wireless), a microphone, a videoscreen (e.g., a touch screen), a vibrating mechanism, a keypad, and/orany of a variety of other user interface devices (e.g., a mouse, atrackball, a touch pad, touch screen, light pen, game controllingdevice, etc.).

The exemplary television 500 may also, for example, comprise any of avariety of communication modules (505, 506, and 510). Such communicationmodule(s) may, for example, share any or all characteristics with thecommunication interface module(s) 410, 420 discussed previously withregard to FIG. 4. For example and without limitation, the communicationinterface module(s) 510 may comprise: a Bluetooth interface module; anIEEE 802.11, 802.15, 802.16 and/or 802.20 module; any of a variety ofcellular telecommunication interface modules (e.g., GSM/GPRS/EDGE,CDMA/CDMA2000/1x-EV-DO, WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA, TDMA/PDC, WiMAX, etc.); anyof a variety of position-related communication interface modules (e.g.,GPS, A-GPS, etc.); any of a variety of wired/tethered communicationinterface modules (e.g., USB, Fire Wire, RS-232, HDMI, Ethernet,wireline and/or cable modem, etc.); any of a variety of communicationinterface modules related to communicating with external memory devices;etc. The exemplary television 500 is also illustrated as comprisingvarious wired 506 and/or wireless 505 front-end modules that may, forexample, be included in the communication interface modules and/orutilized thereby.

The exemplary television 500 may also comprise any of a variety ofsignal processing module(s) 590. Such signal processing module(s) 590may share any or all characteristics with modules of the exemplarytelevision 400 that perform signal processing. Such signal processingmodule(s) 590 may, for example, be utilized to assist in processingvarious types of information discussed previously (e.g., with regard tosensor processing, position determination, video processing, imageprocessing, audio processing, general user interface information dataprocessing, etc.). For example and without limitation, the signalprocessing module(s) 590 may comprise: video/graphics processing modules(e.g. MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, JPEG, TIFF, 3-D, 2-D, MDDI, etc.);audio processing modules (e.g., MP3, AAC, MIDI, QCELP, AMR, CMX, etc.);and/or tactile processing modules (e.g., Keypad I/O, touch screenprocessing, motor control, etc.).

In summary, various aspects of the present invention provide a systemand method in a television for providing user-selection of objects in atelevision program. While the invention has been described withreference to certain aspects and embodiments, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes may be made andequivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of theinvention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the inventionwithout departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that theinvention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, butthat the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

1. A method for identifying a user-selected object in televisionprogramming, the method comprising: in a television: presentingtelevision programming to a user, the television programming comprisinguser-selectable objects; determining an on-screen pointing locationpointed to by a user of the television; and identifying auser-selectable object in the presented television programming at whichthe user is pointing based, at least in part, on the determinedon-screen pointing location.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saididentifying comprises: determining respective regions of the televisionscreen associated with respective user-selectable objects; andidentifying a user-selectable object in the presented televisionprogramming at which the user is pointing based, at least in part, onthe determined on-screen pointing location and the determined respectiveregions.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying comprises:determining respective regions of a frame of the presented televisionprogramming associated with respective user-selectable objects; andidentifying a user-selectable object in the presented televisionprogramming at which the user is pointing based, at least in part, onthe determined on-screen pointing location and the determined respectiveregions.
 4. The method of claim 1, comprising, in the television,receiving information identifying selectable objects in the presentedtelevision programming.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein receivinginformation identifying selectable objects in the presented televisionprogramming comprises receiving said information embedded in a same datastream as a stream communicating the presented television programming.6. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving information identifyingselectable objects in the presented television programming comprisesreceiving said information in a data stream communicated in parallelwith a stream communicating the presented television programming.
 7. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the information identifying selectableobjects in the presented television programming is communicated with thepresented television programming without being requested by thetelevision.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the informationidentifying selectable objects in the presented television programmingcomprises timing information associated with the selectable objects. 9.The method of claim 4, wherein the information identifying selectableobjects in the presented television programming comprises informationdefining respective regions of the presented television programmingassociated with respective selectable objects in the presentedtelevision programming.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein theinformation defining respective regions of the presented televisionprogramming associated with the respective selectable objects comprisesinformation describing movement of the respective regions as a functionof time.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining compriseslow-pass filtering the determined on-screen pointing location.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said identifying comprises identifying aclosest user-selectable object to the determined on-screen pointinglocation.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the presented televisionprogramming comprises real-time broadcast television programming. 14.The method of claim 4, wherein: the presented television programming isuser-stored; and the information identifying selectable objects isuser-stored.
 15. The method of claim 1, comprising generating a useroutput indicating the identified user-selectable object.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein said generating comprises overlaying a graphicalfeature coinciding with the identified user-selectable object on thepresented television programming.
 17. The method of claim 1, comprisingcommunicating information indicating the identified user-selectableobject to a television remote control device.
 18. A televisioncomprising at least one module operable to, at least: present televisionprogramming to a user, the television programming comprisinguser-selectable objects; determine an on-screen pointing locationpointed to by a user of the television; and identify a user-selectableobject in the presented television programming at which the user ispointing based, at least in part, on the determined on-screen pointinglocation.
 19. The television of claim 18, wherein the at least onemodule is operable to identify the user-selectable object by, at leastin part, operating to: determine respective regions of the televisionscreen associated with respective user-selectable objects; and identifya user-selectable object in the presented television programming atwhich the user is pointing based, at least in part, on the determinedon-screen pointing location and the determined respective regions. 20.The television of claim 18, wherein said at least one module is operableto identify the user-selectable object by, at least in part, operatingto: determine respective regions of a frame of the presented televisionprogramming associated with respective user-selectable objects; andidentify a user-selectable object in the presented televisionprogramming at which the user is pointing based, at least in part, onthe determined on-screen pointing location and the determined respectiveregions.
 21. The television of claim 18, wherein the at least one moduleis operable to receive information identifying selectable objects in thepresented television programming.
 22. The television of claim 21,wherein the at least one module is operable to receive informationidentifying selectable objects in the presented television programmingby, at least in part, operating to receive said information embedded ina same data stream as a stream communicating the presented televisionprogramming.
 23. The television of claim 21, wherein the at least onemodule is operable to receive information identifying selectable objectsin the presented television programming by, at least in part, operatingto receive said information in a data stream communicated in parallelwith a stream communicating the presented television programming. 24.The television of claim 21, wherein the information identifyingselectable objects in the presented television programming iscommunicated with the presented television programming without beingrequested by the television.
 25. The television of claim 21, wherein theinformation identifying selectable objects in the presented televisionprogramming comprises timing information associated with the selectableobjects.
 26. The television of claim 21, wherein the informationidentifying selectable objects in the presented television programmingcomprises information defining respective regions of the presentedtelevision programming associated with respective selectable objects inthe presented television programming.
 27. The television of claim 26,wherein the information defining respective regions of the presentedtelevision programming associated with the respective selectable objectscomprises information describing movement of the respective regions as afunction of time.
 28. The television of claim 18, wherein the at leastone module is operable to determine an on-screen pointing location by,at least in part, operating to low-pass filter the determined on-screenpointing location.
 29. The television of claim 18, wherein the at leastone module is operable to identify a user-selectable object by, at leastin part, operating to identify a closest user-selectable object to thedetermined on-screen pointing location.
 30. The television of claim 18,wherein the presented television programming comprises real-timebroadcast television programming.
 31. The television of claim 21,wherein: the presented television programming is user-stored; and theinformation identifying selectable objects is user-stored.
 32. Thetelevision of claim 18, wherein the at least one module is operable togenerate a user output indicating the identified user-selectable object.33. The television of claim 32, wherein the at least one module isoperable to generate a user output indicating the identifieduser-selectable object by, at least in part, operating to overlay agraphical feature coinciding with the identified user-selectable objecton the presented television programming.
 34. The television of claim 18,wherein the at least one module is operable to communicate informationindicating the identified user-selectable object to a television remotecontrol device.